NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1322, 28 December 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The supporFers of amateur athIctics in New Zealand have every reason to be very proud of the splendid achicvcnicnt of the New Zealand representatives in the Australasian championships just concluded. At tlm meeting held in Melbourne in 1005 our men were, not lucky enough to score a single win, hut in 1008, in lf)09, and now in 1011 they have carried off Uie banner. Ten firsts and eight seconds in the fifteen championship events arc a wonderful record, and a quite unchallengeable y>roof that athletics arc a thing in which New Zealand is as naturally super--1 ior to Australia as in Rugby foot-

I all. It is not as if New Zealand's success was duo to tho stimulating effect of "the native heath, 1, for of the five- championship meetings (out 01. soyen held since the formation of he Australasian Union) in which the JN'ew Zealand team has taken his, place, three look place on Austrahail tracks. Opie, Hii,l, Keddell, and IVERK have shown themselves u. bo at the least up to ths very best standards of Australasian athletics, in a general survey the times recorded were so good-several records were broken-as to give a, severe knock to the idea so generally held that tho athletes of past times were a greater race of men than those of to-day. It 13 a pity that tho weather did not do its plain duty towards a tourney of such interest, , but the meeting was nevertheless very successful, and will greatly advance the interests of a form of sport which we aro inclined to fancy better deserves encouragement than almost anv other.'

Mention was made in the cable news a few weeks ago of a striking address by the Dean of St. Paul's, who insisted, in effect, that tho present ago is all astray in its estimate of its worth, its wisdom, and its achievements. Now, whatever may be said for tho twentieth century, nobody can deny that it has not yet purged itself of arrogance and intolerance. It believes that it is the only ago that has ever mattered: it will calmly say that the age of Pericles was about equal to the age of, say, King Harold, and a more patch of barbarism compared with the age of Mr. Lloyd-Geokge. Naturally, then, the Dean's address was fiercely assailed by the Radicals asa mixture of fool and liar. The mail bring 3us the Dean's reply to his critics. "I have found myself," he said, "dubbed the gloomy Dean/ in contrast with certain more popular ecclesiastics who, because they can always conscientiously shout with tho largest crowd, arc naturally cheerful Deans, lou who hoard me last week know that I was only telling you, first not to use catchwords until you are quite sure what you mean by them; and, secondly, not to worship the ideals of the market-place until you arc quite sure what they arc made of. Since among scores of more or less interesting letters which I have not had time hi answer there have been a few containing mere abuse (as if it worn a kind of impiety not to float with the stream, a fcafc which any dead dog can accomplish, and a kind of treason not to lick the boots of our masters for the time being, a complaisance, which every live dog is eager to perform), I would ask you to recollect a certain historical episode." I'-vcr.yoiio knows what that episode was, bul. it ought to be useful to this twentieth century of ours to have it recalled in terms that throw into the light that side of it which presentday civilisation ncods most to see. ''Once upon a time," said Dr.. Ingk, there was a "great prophet and teacher who lived in an age when His countrymen were much excited by the hope of a wonderful social and "political deliverance which they wrongly believed to be close at hand. He told them that their millennium was not coming at all, bul he added that he had been commissioned to bring them something better, viz., spiritual and moral emancipation, which would niakc life happy and blessed for them, whatever earthly troubles might be in store for them. This unpatriotic pessimism was too much for his countrymen. So, although they approved of the excellent moral tone ot His sermons, they crucified Him!"

Discussing the other day the curious fact that Canterbury" had returned far more Wardists than Eeformors to Parliament, while the lar goi , , Provinces, Auckland, Otago, and Wellington had gone overwhelmingly the other way, we suggested that tho explanation lay in Canterbury s conservative disinclination to change from what it has been accustomed to. The Press and the Evenin<i i\ ews fully bear out this view, although the. Press mentions as factors the peculiar-alterations made in the electoral boundaries, the improper tactics of the opponents of Rciorm, and the curious allegiance given to the Ward party by the Prohibitionists. Still, it was ,a blindness to the need for change that wiu chiefly responsible for the Canterbury publics queer vote: "They heard tho cry for reform, listened for a moment, and then turned once more to a- Government whose chief claim, In their eyes, to their sympathy and support was that with occasional changes in personnel it had been in olhco for twenty-one years. Despite the fact that in that period it, had lost all justification for its existence, that it was reckless in its finance icebe in its administration, and absolutely devoid of a policy, it received widespread support in Canterbury because it had been so long in power-which was really one of the oc\ nMf Ca p n V r! ! y U & : hould bo Cd out. _ Canterbury is too fond of gazing in a mirror at the past instead of looking through an oncn grcssivc, while the rest of the Dom - doubt Sr ry, " Wc havo I'ttk doubt that the common sense of Canterbury will come to its rescue The (hr^ Ae^ to, - ,chosthei^rto AWT!? 1 ' T hc " »t.say s - that "the Aorth Island said, in effect: 'Ward for Canto : kind J of rV mt m ? ttcr much "izt Kind of Government a communis has when it i s once in tnTgrTli the sleeping-sickness, but it i l l \ ob good enough for the North Island and we are going to have a change "

AMncreasuglj serious problem foi British statesmen and publicist is the large and rapid growth of thn rublic expenditure' It ha? IUSt ahead by many millions a year and although its growth has been as no thing compared with the growth o f ho public expenditure in i\cw ia land, it has been rapid enough 0 fill cautions men with anxiety and ven alarm. They haw reached the sage of propounding remedies, and o most important suggestion is that put forward m an article in U Manchester Guardian by Lord Wαu, one of Gladstones financial assistants and one of the first of livim authorities on public finance. \? (hough ho is a good Liberal, Loud AUlby can not credit modern Chancellors with "that ingrained hate of waste, that passion to keep the chareo on the taxpayer within the narrowest limits, which distinguished Finance Ministers of prior generations." "Borrowed moneys are sure to be spent hastily and wastefullv " h« says, but waste and haste can creep into (lie expenditure of a. nonliorrowing Government, His suggestion is that there should be a Standing (.'oinmittce of (h<; House upon the. Estimates. Such a Committee lined not diminish (he responsibility of (ho Executive Government, since it would not be a Committee on the

Budget, but only on tho actual Miniates. 11, would not, frame the. Estimates; but it would be a critic on them when framed, and would report to the House: "It would cull the attention of the. House to services on which expenditure appeared excessive, in order that the House may order a closer investigation of the apparent, excess," and so on. This particular "remedy for tho great evil which threatens the commonwealth" is one that may come to be adopted here after our own public finances havo been overhauled, ns they must be at as early a date as possible.